The Hollow of Her Hand

by George Barr McCutcheon

  CHAPTER XXIV

  THE JURY OF FOUR

  The Wrandalls sat waiting and wondering. They had been sent for andthey had deigned to respond, much to their own surprise. RedmondWrandall occupied a place at the head of the library table. At hisright sat his wife. Vivian and Leslie, by direction, took seats atthe side of the long table, which had been cleared of its mass ofbooks and magazines. Lawyer Carroll was at the other end of thetable, perceptibly nervous and anxious. Hetty sat a little apartfrom the others, a rather forlorn, detached member of the conclave.Brandon Booth, pale-faced and alert, drew up a chair alongsideCarroll, facing Sara who alone remained standing, directly oppositethe four Wrandalls.

  Not one of the Wrandalls knew why they, as a family, were there.They had not the slightest premonition of what was to come.

  The strong glare of an electric chandelier, seldom used in thisquiet, subdued little library, threw its light down upon the group,outlining every feature with a sharpness that almost created shadows.It was a trying light. No play of the emotions could be lost underits convicting glow. A clock struck nine. Outside the first savagestorm of the winter was raging.

  The Wrandalls had been routed from their comfortable fireside--forwhat? They were asking the question of themselves and they werewaiting stonily for the answer.

  "It is very stuffy in here," Vivian had said with a glance at theclosed doors after Sara had successfully placed her jury in thebox.

  "Keep still, Viv," whispered Leslie, with a fine assumption of awe."It's a spiritualistic meeting. You'll scare the spooks away."

  It was at this juncture that Sara rose from her chair and facedthem, as calmly, as complacently as if she were about to ask themto proceed to the dining-room instead of to throw a bomb into theirmidst that would shatter their smug serenity for all time to come.With a glance at Mr. Carroll she began, clearly, firmly and withouta prefatory apology for what was to follow.

  "I have asked you to come here to-night to be my judges. I am ontrial. You are about to hear the story of my unspeakable perfidy.I only require of you that you hear me to the end before passingjudgment."

  At her words, Hetty and Booth started perceptibly; a quick glancepassed between them, as if each was inquiring whether the otherhad caught the extraordinary words of self-indictment. A puzzledfrown appeared on Hetty's brow.

  "Perfidy?" interposed Mr. Wrandall. His wife's expression changedfrom one of bored indifference to sharp inquiry. Leslie paused inthe act of lighting a cigarette.

  "It is the mildest term I can command," said Sara. "I shall be asbrief as possible in stating the case, Mr. Wrandall. You will besurprised to hear that I have taken it upon myself, as the wife ofChallis Wrandall and, as I regard it, the one MOST vitally concernedif not interested in the discovery and punishment of the personwho took his life,--I say I have taken it upon myself to shield,protect and defend the unhappy young woman who accompanied him toBurton's Inn on that night in March. She has had my constant, mypersonal protection for more than twenty months."

  The Wrandalls leaned forward in their chairs. The match burnedLeslie's fingers, and he dropped it without appearing to noticethe pain.

  "What is this you are saying?" demanded Redmond Wrandall.

  "When I left the inn that night, after seeing my husband's body inthe little upstairs room, I said to myself that the one who tookhis life had unwittingly done me a service. He was my husband; Iloved him, I adored him. To the end of my days I could have goneon loving him in spite of the cruel return he gave for my love andloyalty. I shall not attempt to tell you of the countless lapsesof fidelity on his part. You would not believe me. But he alwayscame back to me with the pitiful love he had for me, and I forgavehim his transgressions. These things you know. He confessed manythings to you, Mr. Wrandall. He humbled himself to me. Perhaps youwill recall that I never complained to you of him. What rancour Ihad was always directed toward you, his family, who would see nowrong in your king but looked upon me as dirt beneath his feet.There were moments when I could have slain him with my own hands,but my heart rebelled. There were times when he said to me that Iought to kill him for the things he had done. You may now understandwhat I mean when I say that the girl who went to Burton's Inn withhim did me a service. I will not say that I considered her guiltlessat the time. On the contrary, I looked upon her in quite a differentway. I had no means of knowing then that she was as pure as snowand that he would have despoiled her of everything that was sweetand sacred to her. She took his life in order to save that whichwas dearer to her than her own life, and she was on her way to payfor her deed with her life if necessary when I came upon her andintervened."

  "You--you know who she is?" said Mr. Wrandall, in a low, incredulousvoice.

  "I have known almost from the beginning. Presently you will hearher story, from her own lips."

  Involuntarily four pairs of eyes shifted. They looked blankly atHetty Castleton.

  Speaking swiftly, Sara depicted the scenes and sensations experiencedduring that memorable motor journey to New York City.

  "I could not believe that she was a vicious creature, even then.Something told me that she was a tender, gentle thing who had falleninto evil hands and had struck because she was unevil. I did notdoubt that she had been my husband's mistress, but I could notdestroy the conviction that somehow she had been justified in doingthe thing she had done. My gravest mistake was in refusing to hearher story in all of its details. I only permitted her to acknowledgethat she had killed him, no more. I did not want to hear the thingwhich I assumed to be true. Therein lies my deepest fault. Formonths and months I misjudged her in my heart, yet secretly lovedher. Now I understand why I loved her. It was because she was innocentof the only crime I could lay at her feet. Now I come to the crimeof which I stand self-accused. I must have been mad all thesemonths. I have no other defence to offer. You may take it as yousee it for yourselves. I do not ask for pardon. After I deliberatelyhad set about to shield this unhappy girl,--to cheat the law, if youplease,--to cheat you, perhaps,--I conceived the horrible thoughtto avenge myself for ALL the indignities I had sustained at thehands of you Wrandalls, and at the same time to even my account withthe one woman whom I could put my finger upon as having robbed meof my husband's love. You see I put it mildly. I have hated all ofyou, Mrs. Wrandall, even as you have hated me. To-day,--now,--Ido not feel as I did in other days toward you. I do not love you,still I do not hate you. I do not forgive you, and yet I think Ihave come to see things from your point of view. I can only repeatthat I do not hate you as I once did."

  She paused. The Wrandalls were too deeply submerged in horror tospeak. They merely stared at her as if stupefied; as breathless,as motionless as stones.

  "There came a day when I observed that Leslie was attracted by theguest in my house. On that day the plan took root in my brain. I--"

  "Good God!" fell from Leslie's lips. "You--you had THAT in mind?"

  "It became a fixed, inflexible purpose, Leslie. Not that I hatedyou as I hated the rest, for you tried to be considerate. Theone grudge I held against you was that in seeking to sustain meyou defamed your own brother. You came to me with stories of hismisdeeds; you said that he was a scoundrel and that you would notblame me for 'showing him up.' Do you not remember? And so my plotinvolved you; you were the only one through whom I could strike.There were times when I faltered. I could not bear the thought ofsacrificing Hetty Castleton, nor was it easy to thoroughly appeasemy conscience in respect to you. Still, if I could have had my waya few months ago, if coercion had been of any avail, you would nowbe the husband of your brother's slayer. Then I came to know thatshe was not what I had thought she was. She was honest. My bubbleburst. I came out of the maze in which I had been living and sawclearly that what I had contemplated was the most atrocious--"

  "Atrocious?" cried Mrs. Redmond Wrandall between her set teeth."Diabolical! Diabolical! My God, Sara, what a devil you--" She didnot complete the sentence, but sank back in her chair and staredwith wide, horror-struck eyes
at her rigid daughter-in-law.

  Her husband, his hand shaking as if with palsy, pointed a finger atHetty. "And so YOU are the one we have been hunting for all thesemonths, Miss Castleton! You are the one we want! You who have satat our table, you who have smiled in our faces--"

  "Stop, Mr. Wrandall!" commanded Sara, noting the ashen face of thegirl. "Don't let the fact escape you that I am the guilty person.Don't forget that she owed her freedom, if not her life to me.I alone kept her from giving herself up to the law. All that hastranspired since that night in March must be placed to my account.Hetty Castleton has been my prisoner. She has rebelled a thousandtimes and I have conquered--not by threats but by LOVE! Do youunderstand? Because of her love for me, and because she believedthat I loved her, she submitted. You are not to accuse her, Mr.Wrandall. Accuse me! I am on trial here. Hetty Castleton is awitness against me, if you choose to call upon her as such. If not,I shall ask her to speak in my defence, if she can do so."

  "This is lunacy!" cried Mr. Wrandall, coming to his feet. "I don'tcare what your motives may have been. They do not make her any theless a murderess. She--"

  "We must give her over to the police--" began his wife, strugglingto her feet. She staggered. It was Booth who stepped quickly toher side to support her. Leslie was staring at Hetty.

  Vivian touched her father's arm. She was very pale but vastly morecomposed than the others.

  "Father, listen to me," she said. Her voice trembled in spite ofher effort to control it. "We are condemning Miss Castleton unheard.Let us hear everything before we--"

  "Good God, Vivian! Do you mean to--"

  "How can we place any reliance on what she may say?" cried Mrs.Wrandall.

  "Nevertheless," said Vivian firmly, "I for one shall not condemnher unheard. I mean to be as fair to her as Sara has been. It shallnot be said that ALL the Wrandalls are smaller than Sara Gooch!"

  "My child--" began her father incredulously. His jaw droppedsuddenly. His daughter's shot had landed squarely in the heart ofthe Wrandall pride.

  "If she has anything to say,"--said Mrs. Wrandall, waving Boothaside and sinking stiffly into her chair. Her husband sat down.Their jaws set hard.

  "Thank you, Vivian," said Sara, surprised in spite of herself. "Youare nobler than I--"

  "Please don't thank me, Sara," said Vivian icily. "I was speakingfor Miss Castleton."

  Sara flushed. "I suppose it is useless to ask you to be fair toSara Gooch, as you choose to call me."

  "Do you feel in your heart that we still owe you anything?"

  "Enough of this, Vivian," spoke up her father harshly. "If MissCastleton desires to speak we will listen to her. I must adviseyou, Miss Castleton, that the extraordinary disclosures made by mydaughter-in-law do not lessen your culpability. We do not insist onthis confession from you. You deliver it at your own risk. I wantto be fair with you. If Mr. Carroll is your counsel, he may adviseyou now to refuse to make a statement."

  Mr. Carroll bowed slightly in the general direction of the Wrandalls."I have already advised Miss Castleton to state the case fully andcompletely to you, Mr. Wrandall. It was I who originally suggestedthis--well, what you might call a private trial for her. I amfirmly convinced that when you have heard her story, you, as herjudges, will acquit her of the charge of murder. Moreover, youwill be content to let your own verdict end the matter, sparingyourselves the shame and ignominy of having her story told in acriminal court for the delectation of an eager but somewhat implacableworld."

  "Your language is extremely unpleasant, Mr. Carroll," said Mr.Wrandall coldly.

  "I meant to speak kindly, sir."

  "Do you mean, sir, that we will let the matter rest after hearingthe--"

  "That is precisely what I mean, Mr. Wrandall. You will not considerher guilty of a crime. Please bear in mind this fact: but forSara and Miss Castleton you would not have known the truth. MissCastleton could not be convicted in a court of justice. Nor willshe be convicted here this evening, in this little court of ours."

  "Miss Castleton is not on trial," interposed Sara calmly. "I amthe offender. She has already been tried and proved innocent."

  Leslie, in his impatience, tapped sharply on the table with hisseal ring.

  "Please let her tell the story. Permit me to say, Miss Castleton,that you will not find the Wrandalls as harsh and vindictive asyou may have been led to believe."

  Mrs. Wrandall passed her hand over her eyes. "To think that we havebeen friendly to this girl all these--"

  "Calm yourself, my dear," said her husband, after a glance at hisson and daughter, a glance of unspeakable helplessness. He couldnot understand them.

  As Hetty arose, Mrs. Wrandall senior lowered her eyes and notonce did she look up during the recital that followed. Her handswere lying limply in her lap, and she breathed heavily, almoststertoriously. The younger Wrandalls leaned forward with their clear,unwavering gaze fixed on the earnest face of the young Englishwomanwho had slain their brother.

  "You have heard Sara accuse herself," said the girl slowly,dispassionately. "The shock was no greater to you than it wasto me. All that she has said is true, and yet I--I would so muchrather she had left herself unarraigned. We were agreed that Ishould throw myself on your mercy. Mr. Carroll said that you werefair and just people, that you would not condemn me under thecircumstances. But that Sara should seek to take the blame is--"

  "Alas, my dear, I AM to blame," said Sara, shaking her head. "Butfor me your story would have been told months ago, the courts wouldhave cleared you, and all the world would have execrated my husbandfor the thing HE did--my husband and your son, Mrs. Wrandall,--whomwe both loved. God believe me, I think I loved him more than allof you put together!"

  She sat down abruptly and buried her face in her arms on the edgeof the table.

  "If I could only induce you to forgive her," began Hetty, throwingout her hands to the Wrandalls, only to be met by a gesture ofrepugnance from the grim old man.

  "Your story, Miss Castleton," he said hoarsely.

  "From the beginning, if you please," added the lawyer quietly."Leave out nothing."

  Clearly, steadily and with the utmost sincerity in her voice andmanner, the girl began the story of her life. She passed hastilyover the earlier periods, frankly exposing the unhappy conditionsattending her home life, her subsequent activities as a performeron the London stage after Colonel Castleton's defection; thefew months devoted to posing for Hawkright the painter, and lateron her engagement as governess in the wealthy Budlong family. Shedevoted some time and definiteness to her first encounter withChallis Wrandall on board the westbound steamer, an incident thatcame to pass in a perfectly natural way. Her deck chair stood nextto his, and he was not slow in making himself agreeable. It did notoccur to her till long afterwards that he deliberately had tradedpositions with an elderly gentleman who occupied the chair on thefirst day out. Before the end of the voyage they were very goodfriends....

  "When we landed in New York, he assisted me in many ways. Afterwards,on learning that I was not to go California, I called him up onthe telephone to explain my predicament. He urged me to stay in NewYork; he guaranteed that there would be no difficulty in securinga splendid position in the East. I had no means of knowing that hewas married. I accepted him for what I thought him to be: a genuineAmerican gentleman. They are supposed to be particularly consideratewith women. His conduct toward me was beyond reproach, I have neverknown a man who was so courteous, so gentle. To me, he was the mostfascinating man in the world. No woman could have resisted him, Iam sure of that."

  She shot a quick, appealing glance at Booth's hard-set face. Herlip trembled for a second.

  "I fell madly in love with him," she went on resolutely. "I dreamedof him, I could hardly wait for the time to come when I was to seehim. He never came to the wretched little lodging house I have toldyou about. I--I met him outside. One night he told me that he lovedme, loved me passionately. I--I said that I would be his wife.Somehow it seemed to me that he regarded me
very curiously fora moment or two. He seemed to be surprised, uncertain. I rememberthat he laughed rather queerly. It did not occur to me to doubthim. One day he came for me, saying that he wanted me to see thelittle apartment he had taken, where we were to live after we weremarried. I went with him. He said that if I liked it, I couldmove in at once, but I would not consent to such an arrangement.For the first time I began to feel that everything was not as itshould be. I--I remained in the apartment but a few minutes. Thenext day he came to me, greatly excited and more demonstrative thanever before, to say that he had arranged for a quiet, jolly littlewedding up in the country. Strangely enough I experienced a queerfeeling that all was not as it should be, but his eagerness hispersistence dispelled the small doubt that had begun even then toshape itself. I consented to go with him on the next night to aninn out in the country, where a college friend who was a ministerof the gospel would meet us, driving over from his parish a fewmiles away. I said that I preferred to be married in a church. Helaughed and said it could be arranged when we got to the inn andhad talked it over with the minister. Still uneasy, I asked why itwas necessary to employ secrecy. He told me that his family werein Europe and that he wanted to surprise them by giving them adaughter who was actually related to an English nobleman. The familyhad been urging him to marry a stupid but rich New York girl andhe--oh, well, he uttered a great deal of nonsense about my beauty,my charm, and all that sort of thing--"

  She paused for a moment. No one spoke. Her audience of judges,with the exception of the elder Mrs. Wrandall, watched her as iffascinated. Their faces were almost expressionless. With a perceptibleeffort, she resumed her story, narrating events that carried itup to the hour when she walked into the little upstairs room atBurton's Inn with the man who was to be her husband.

  "I did not see the register at the inn. I did not know tillafterwards that we were not booked. Once upstairs, I refused toremove my hat or my veil or my coat until he brought his friend tome. He pretended to be very angry over his friend's failure to bethere beforehand, as he had promised. He ordered a supper servedin the room. I did not eat anything. Somehow I was beginningto understand, vaguely of course, but surely--and bitterly, Mr.Wrandall. Suddenly he threw off the mask.

  "He coolly informed me that he knew the kind of girl I was. I hadbeen on the stage. He said it was no use trying to work the marriagegame on him. He was too old a bird and too wise to fall for that.Those were his words. I was horrified, stunned. When I began to cryout in my fury, he laughed at me but swore he would marry me evenat that if it were not for the fact that he already was married....Itried to leave the room. He held me. He kissed me a hundred timesbefore I could break away. I--I tried to scream....A little lateron, when I was absolutely desperate, I--I snatched up the knife.There was nothing else left for me to do. I struck at him. He fellback on the bed....I stole out of the house--oh, hours and hoursafterward it seemed to me. I cannot tell you how long I stood therewatching him....I was crazed by fear. I--I--"

  Redmond Wrandall held up his hand.

  "We will spare you the rest, Miss Castleton," he said, his voicehoarse and unnatural. "There is no need to say more."

  "You--you understand? You DO believe me?" she cried.

  He looked down at his wife's bowed head, and received no sign fromher; then at the white, drawn faces of his children. They met hisgaze and he read something in their eyes.

  "I--I think your story is so convincing that we--we could not endurethe shame of having it repeated to the world."

  "I--I cannot ask you to forgive me, sir. I only ask you to believeme," she murmured brokenly. "I--I am sorry it had to be. God is mywitness that there was no other way."

  Mr. Carroll came to his feet. There were tears in his eyes.

  "I think, Mr. Wrandall, you will now appreciate my motives in--"

  "Pardon me, Mr. Carroll, if I suggest that Miss Castleton does notrequire any defence at present," said Mr. Wrandall stiffly. "Yourmotives were doubtless good. Will you be so good as to conduct usto a room where we may--may be alone for a short while?"

  There was something tragic in the man's face. His son and daughterarose as if moved by an instinctive realisation of a duty, and perhapsfor the first time in their lives were submissive to an influencethey had never quite recognised before: a father's unalterableright to command. For once in their lives they were meek in hispresence. They stepped to his side and stood waiting, and neitherof them spoke.

  Mr. Wrandall laid his hand heavily on his wife's shoulder. Shestarted, looked up rather vacantly, and then arose without assistance.He did not make the mistake of offering to assist her. He knewtoo well that to question her strength now would be but to inviteweakness. She was strong. He knew her well.

  She stood straight and firm for a few seconds, transfixing Hettywith a look that seemed to bore into the very soul of her, and thenspoke.

  "You ask us to be your judges?"

  Her audience of judges, with the exception of theelder Mrs. Wrandall, watched her as if fascinated]

  "I ask you to judge not me alone but--your son as well," saidHetty, meeting her look steadily. "You cannot pronounce me innocentwithout pronouncing him guilty. It will be hard."

  Sara raised her head from her arms.

  "You know the way into my sitting-room, Leslie," she said, withsingular directness. Then she arose and drew her figure to its fullheight. "Please remember that it is I who am to be judged. Judgeme as I have judged you. I am not asking for mercy."

  Hetty impulsively threw her arms about the rigid figure, and swept apleading look from one to the other of the four stony-faced Wrandalls.

  They turned away without a word or a revealing look, and slowlymoved off in the direction of the boudoir. They who remained behindstood still, motionless as statues. It was Vivian who opened thelibrary door. She closed it after the others had passed through,and did not look behind.

  Half an hour passed. Then the door was opened and the tall old manadvanced into the room.

  "We have found against my son, Miss Castleton," he said, his lipstwitching. "He is not here to speak for himself, but he has alreadybeen judged. We, his family, apologise to you for what you havesuffered from the conduct of one of us. Not one but all of us believethe story you have told. It must never be re-told. We ask this ofall of you. It is not in our hearts to thank Sara for shielding you,for her hand is still raised against us. We are fair and just. Ifyou had come to US on that wretched night and told the story of myson's infamy, WE, the Wrandalls, would have stood between you andthe law. The law could not have touched you then; it shall not touchyou now. Our verdict, if you choose to call it that, is sealed. Noman shall ever hear from the lips of a Wrandall the smallest partof what has transpired here to-night. Mr. Carroll, you were right.We thank you for the counsel that led this unhappy girl to placeherself in our hands."

  "Oh, God, I thank thee--I thank thee!" burst from the lips of SaraWrandall. She strained Hetty to her breast.

  "It is not for us to judge you, Sara," said Redmond Wrandall,speaking with difficulty. "You are your own judge, and a harsh oneyou will find yourself. As for ourselves, we can only look uponyour unspeakable design as the working of a temporarily derangedmind. You could never have carried it out. You are an honest woman.At the last you would have revolted, even with victory assured.Perhaps Leslie is the only one who has a real grievance againstyou in this matter. I am convinced that he loved Miss Castletondeeply. The worst hurt is his, and he has been your most devotedadvocate during all the years of bitterness that has existed betweenyou and us. You thought to play him a foul trick. You could not havecarried it to the end. We leave you to pass judgment on yourself."

  "I have already done so, Mr. Wrandall," said Sara. "Have I notaccused myself before you? Have I not confessed to the only crimethat has been committed? I am not proud of myself, sir."

  "You have hated us well."

  "And you have hated me. The crime you hold me guilty of was committedyears ago. It was when I robbed you of yo
ur son. To this day I amthe leper in your path. I may be forgiven for all else, but notfor allowing Challis Wrandall to become the husband of SebastianGooch's daughter. That is the unpardonable sin."

  Mr. Wrandall was silent for a moment.

  "You still are Sebastian Gooch's daughter," he said distinctly."You can never be anything else."

  She paled. "This last transaction proves it, you would say?"

  "This last transaction, yes."

  She looked about her with troubled, questioning eyes.

  "I--I wonder if THAT can be true," she murmured, rather piteously."Am I so different from the rest of you? Is the blood to blame?"

  "Nonsense!" exclaimed Mr. Carroll nervously. "Don't be silly, Sara,my child. That is not what Mr. Wrandall means."

  Wrandall turned his face away.

  "You loved as deeply as you hate, Sara," he said, with a curioustwitching of his chin. "My son was your god. We are not insensibleto that. Perhaps we have never realised until now the depth andbreadth of your love for him. Love is a bitter judge of its enemies.It knows no mercy, it knows no reason. Hate may be conquered bylove, but love cannot be conquered by hate. You had reason to hatemy son; Instead you persisted in your love for him. We--we owe yousomething for that, Sara. We owe you a great deal more than I findmyself able to express in words."

  Leslie entered the room at this instant. He had his overcoat onand carried his gloves and hat in his hand.

  "We are ready, father," he said thickly.

  After a moment's hesitation, he crossed over to Hetty, who stoodbeside Sara.

  "I--I can now understand why you refused to marry me, Miss Castleton,"he said, in a queer, jerky manner. "Won't you let me say that Iwish you all the happiness still to be found in this rather unevenworld of ours?"

  The crowning testimonial to an absolutely sincere ego!